Gabriel Culbert, PhD, RN

Dr. Culbert’s research focuses on interventions for infectious diseases and addiction in criminal justice settings in the U.S. and internationally. The HIV and TB global pandemics are closely intertwined with incarceration and substance use. Dr. Culbert’s research examines approaches to improve health outcomes and reduce transmission in populations where co-occurring substance use and incarceration can interfere with effective treatment. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Nursing Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2012, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in epidemiology and infectious diseases at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Culbert has received multiple research awards, including a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award and Fogarty-sponsored Global Health Equity Fellowship to conduct research with HIV-infected prisoners in the U.S. and Southeast Asia. Using qualitative and mixed-method approaches, Dr. Culbert conducted some of the first studies of within-prison drug injection, HIV stigma, and HIV treatment among Indonesian prisoners. His work is increasingly focused on developing and testing nursing interventions to improve treatment access and adherence in HIV-infected prisoners who are transitioning to the community.

Current Area of Teaching

Dr. Culbert has lectured extensively on community health and infectious diseases to students, healthcare providers, and faculty in the U.S., China, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Service / Practice

Dr. Culbert has practiced nursing for over 10 years and provided care to persons at risk for and living with HIV (PLH) within inpatient, community, and research settings. He has clinical supervisory experience in HIV clinical trials within the UIC College of Medicine, including the HVTN 505 vaccine study, and the recently-concluded START study, the first large-scale randomized clinical trial to establish that earlier antiretroviral treatment (ART) benefits all HIV-infected individuals.

Selected Honors & Awards

Global Health Equity Fellow - Fogarty International Center (FIC) and National Center for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health; (2014-15)

Fulbright Senior Scholar - J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State; (2013-14)

Selected Publications

Culbert, G.J. (2011). Understanding the health needs of incarcerated men living with HIV/AIDS: A primary health care approach. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 17(2), 158-170. PMID: 21659306

Culbert, G.J. (2014). Violence and the perceived risks of taking antiretroviral therapy in US jails and prisons. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 10(1), 1-17. PMID: 25764073.

Internal Research Support Program (IRSP) -- 11/20/15-05/15/17
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing Dean’s FundCultural adaptation of a medication adherence intervention for prisoners in Indonesia
This project will adapt an evidence-based medication adherence intervention for soon-to-be-released prisoners in Indonesia.
Role: PI